On Media

POLITICO rounds up some of White House press secretary Jay Carney's tensest moments with reporters in briefings this week.

Jay Carney's 'moment of truth'

By DYLAN BYERS

05/15/2013 04:37 PM EDT

Jay Carney’s relationship with the press corps underwent a sea change this week.

The first two years of his tenure as White House press secretary were a relative cake-walk: his talking points were solid, the issues were manageable, and the press corps was largely acquiescent. But as controversies pile up on the Obama administration’s doorstep — from the IRS targeting of conservative groups to the Benghazi investigation to the Justice Department’s seizure of AP phone records — Carney has been left facing increasingly aggressive reporters demanding answers and more information in question after pointed question.

White House press correspondents tell POLITICO that, from their perspective, the coming weeks will serve as a “moment of truth” for Carney, who faces the greatest test of his tenure to date. Three days into a changed environment in the briefing room, they say they admire how he has held his ground, deflecting reporters inquiries while at the same time maintaining the cool, no-drama demeanor that has long been a defining feature of the Obama White House.

But these are still the early days, the White House correspondents say, and the onslaught is unlikely to die down anytime soon.

“It’s an entirely different environment in that briefing room now,” Jon Karl, the ABC News White House correspondent told POLITICO. “Jay Carney’s job just got a lot more difficult. He’s facing incoming from all directions.”

“It’s not a briefing anymore, it’s a pounding,” former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said. “The best thing he can do is take the position of piñata and enjoy it.”

Carney doesn't see the recent briefings as a drastic change from the past.

"There have been ebbs and flows to the intensity level of briefings for as long as I can remember, and certainly for as long as I’ve been doing this," he told POLITICO late Wednesday afternoon. "I think reporters are doing their jobs when they ask hard questions. I have no problem with that."

Carney also addressed the “burden” he’s faced in recent days at Wednesday's briefing: “It is entirely appropriate for reporters who cover this building to ask hard questions — even when they’re questions that are hard to answer or when I have to say, because it’s true, that I don’t have the answer or that it would be inappropriate for me to have an answer,” he said. “I know that that is unsatisfying, but it has to be the case.”

“It may sound odd, but I enjoy coming out here, even when it’s challenging, because I think that this is a portion of our democracy at work and to be a part of that is a rare and unique privilege,” he added.

So far, Carney has withstood the recent grilling. Though he rarely gives reporters the answers they’re looking for, he hasn’t made any gaffes, has defended his boss fairly well, and hasn’t lost his composure.

“He doesn’t come off as angry or irritated as some of his predecesors had,” CBS News Radio White House correspondent Mark Knoller told POLITICO. “He’s doing what they want him to do. He’s not freelancing up there: he remains calm, he remains articulate.”

“For all the incoming fire, he’s remained steady. He rarely gets flustered. There’s a level of calm,” Karl added. “Yes, he’s not giving the information that people are asking for, but his hands are tied. Nobody in his shoes would be able to go much further than he would.”

If Carney succeeds in weathering these difficult days, he could restore the status quo relationship with the press corps; if he doesn’t — if he makes a big mistake or loses his cool — he could harm an already beleaguered administration and possibly even find himself headed to an early exit.

”This is a moment when there are lots of questions and the White House isn’t ready or prepared to have the president address those questions,” NBC White House correspondent Chuck Todd told POLITICO. “Carney is in a position where he’s the face of the administration now — the only public spokesperson on a given day — so this is certainly a big test for him.”

Fleischer said, “On the plus side, he has not gotten rattled, he stands there with this assurance and confidence that is always important for the press secretary. [But] he has no solid ground on which he can make a stand. All he can do is duck, dodge, dance and defer.

"My bottom line is he’s handling this fine, he’s just severely handicapped because of the nature of these scandals," Fleischer added.